A Dance With A Winter Storm
by camp lazlo1232
Summary: it is the worst snow storm in the towns history and Mandy's school stays open. on top of that she has to worry about the up and coming winter dance. but before she has time for any of that...tragedy strikes. Complete story inside. new stroy promo inside!
1. 1: The Aggravation Of Assumptions

**Alright welcome to my first GAOBAM story. I hope you like the "whole story in one post idea". It means that I won't get halfway thru the story and stop updating, you know. Anyway I don't own the grim adventures…Maxwell Atoms does…lucky. **

**So hopefully you enjoy...the story…**

**A Dance with a Winter Storm **

**Chapter One**

**The Aggravation of Assumptions**

"Winter … I hate winter," Mandy thought to herself as she pulled her large coat on tighter. The bus ride to Fletcher middle school was taking twice as long as it normally would due to the fierce Blizzard outside. Mandy stared out the window as bullets of snow shot passed the bus at great speeds.

"A Blizzard this serious and our stupid school still stays open, this is so unfair". She looked over to Billy who was standing on the seat next to her. He was in the process of flicking a rubber band across the already rowdy bus. He stopped just before he could flick it as he saw Mandy staring angrily at him. He quickly shoved the rubber band into his pants pocket and sat down. Mandy shook her head in embarrassment.

'Billy' Mandy started 'sit down and be quiet' she demanded.

'Can do Mandy' Billy said in his usual, upbeat voice. Mandy new that no matter how bad the weather was outside, Billy would always be a happy little boy. She gave him a slow nod, but before she could turn back to look out the frosty window, Billy began to talk once more.

'Hey Mandy'

'What is it Billy?' Mandy asked with a sigh

'What color are we wearing tonight?'. Mandy slapped her head swiftly at Billy's stupid question.

'Red Billy, we're wearing Red to the dance' Mandy said as she massaged her head. Mandy had told Billy that they would color code in red to the Winter Dance that was on tonight, and she was sick of reminding him. Before you get any idea's though they were only going to the dance together to protect their social status. You see, in Fletcher middle school, going to any social event such as this without a date, was a one way ticket to the geek table. Billy and Mandy weren't exactly the coolest students in the school; they were sort of just in the normal crowd. So they decided to go to the dance together. They had done it a few times before and it seemed to work then.

The bus stopped suddenly and Mandy almost flew of her seat.

'Yay, were here!' Billy yelled. Mandy looked out the window. The blizzard was so strong that she could barley see the school at tall. Mandy slid of the seat and followed Billy down to the doors of the bus. Everyone on the bus prepared themselves for the opening of the bus doors. Mandy was being squished between Billy and another girl. The doors swung open and Mandy was almost carried by the crowed. As soon as she stepped of the bus the force of the blizzard hit her like a train. She struggled just to keep herself upright. She took a step forward and her foot sunk into the snow up to her shin. She slowly trudged forward, her bag held tightly in her arms, Billy and the rest of the crowd two steps in front of her. The door of the school became visible through the white haze and Mandy started to almost run to the door. She burst through the doors and almost collapsed on the solid ground. Billy flopped in behind her and closed the doors behind him. Mandy looked at him as he smiled back at her.

'I feel like a frozen chicken' Billy said loudly, his nose bright red from the cold

'You look like a frozen idiot' Mandy replied sharply as she turned and headed down the hall to her locker.

'I'll see you in PE!' Billy yelled at Mandy. Mandy didn't acknowledge him at all, she just kept walking. She walked down the packed halls of students in their large winter coats and normal uniforms underneath, everyone chatting away. She kept walking until she finally reached her locker. She opened it up and started to load her bag with the books she would need for her classes today only to be interrupted by a fellow student.

'Morning Many' a Sharp, irritating voice shot though Mandy's ears, a voice she knew all to well. She turned to face the other Girl

'Jenny' Mandy said flatly 'what do you want'.

'I just wanted to tell you that I'll be going to the dance with, Irwin, the star quarter back' Jenny bragged. Mandy let out a small chuckle as she slammed her locker shut.

"It's funny to think, that guy used to be a turbo nerd, and now he is the biggest jock in the school" Mandy thought. She was relieved for the change in him though. Only because now he was popular, he wasn't constantly trying to hit on her, and this was what Mandy wanted from the start. She looked at Jenny once more

'Good for you…now leave my alone' She grumbled. Jenny just ignored her though

'I guess you'll be going with your boyfriend then' She said. Mandy's expression quickly changed to one of confusion, Mandy knew that Jenny was stupid, but not this stupid.

'I-I don't have a boyfriend' Mandy stuttered in confusion

'You know who I mean' Jenny said 'bobby or, boogie or-'

'Billy?' Mandy interrupted with shock

'Yeah, Billy' Jenny said. Mandy looked away

'Billy and I aren't boyfriend and girlfriend' Mandy explained. Jenny looked confused

'But I thought you two were going to the dance together'

'Well, err…yeah, we are' Mandy said as she was caught of guard

'So you are together then' Jess said again

'No!' Mandy yelled. Their conversation was cut of by the bell. Mandy watched it ring and once it was over she started heading to her first class, leaving Jenny standing there, confused. Mandy was glad that the confrontation was over, but the strange thing was, the rest of her day unfolded exactly like this. Due to the excitement of the dance, the resident pretty princess girls were constantly talking about who was going with whom, and Mandy had to explain that Billy wasn't her boyfriend several times through the day to many different people. She was lucky that Billy wasn't in any of her Classes today except for PE at the end of the day. But she was sure that Billy was having the same problem with the boys in his classes.

Mandy sighed as whispers shot across the quiet math class. It was her second last class of the day, and she had to finish the day with PE. The blizzard had only become worse all the way through the day and now the wind howled furiously around the school. Mandy tried to focus on the complicated algebra equation on the board, but her mind kept wandering.

"Why does everyone think me and Billy are a couple?" she thought "cant a guy and a girl hang out together and not be classified as Together?". She fiercely scribbled over her working out page as she realized she had replaced every X equation with the name Billy so she ended up with things like, two Billy to the power of four, divided by Billy. She slowly bent her head down until it was resting on the table.

"I don't even think about Billy that way…do I?". Mandy shot up from her desk as the bell rang loudly through the room. She quickly wiped the drool from her face as she looked around in confusion.

"I must have fallen asleep" she thought as she packed her book into her bag and evacuated the room with the rest of the students. She sighed with relief as she realized that she only had one more class, but her relief was quickly cut short as she realized that the last class was PE, with the worst PE teacher ever…

**There we go. First chapter…WHOOH. I hope that puts the story into context. Mandy is in Middle school, its winter, its snowing pretty hard outside…what else is there to take in.**


	2. 2: PE Is A Dangerous Thing

**So this is chapter two. I know the story has been a little slow so far, but every good story requires a good buildup if you know what I mean. I would also like to apologize if Mandy seems a little out of character. Its really hard to capture Mandy's brand of evil…also there is a building plot that might explain the OCness a little**

**Chapter Two**

**PE is a Dangerous Thing**

Mandy pulled her jacket out of her bag and pulled it on tightly as she walked towards the doors that led across to the gym. She was preparing for the quick run across the basketball courts to the gym

"Who's dumb idea was it to not connect the gym to the rest of the school" Mandy thought as she walked swiftly down the corridor "it's just stupid". Her quick pace slowed down as she turned the corner and saw her whole class standing at the doors that led outside to the Basketball courts. The large muscular teacher stood in front of the door and marked the roll. Mandy quickly joined the crowed and stood next to Billy who was eager to see her as usual. The class looked on as the teacher finished marking the roll and began talking

'Welcome once again students' the teacher said 'for those idiots that can't remember, my name is has tel gado and I'll be whipping you scrawny little runts into shape'. Mandy shook her head. Has tel gado had been their teacher for a whole term now, but every lesson he re introduces himself.

'Now listen up maggots!' he yelled 'because of the winter dance, we will not be doing PE in the gym today'. Everyone looked around and a small round of talking arose but was quickly extinguished be Has tel gado's voice

'So instead were just going to play some good old amercian B-ball'. Just as he finished his sentence he pushed the double doors open with force. The fierce wind and extreme cold flew into the school. Has tel gado yelled something that couldn't be heard over the sound of the wind, but the class still understood what he meant. They slowly forced their way out into the thick sheets of snow. The teacher started throwing balls out at the basketball courts, but they disappeared into the floor of snow instantly.

Mandy just stood their, freezing and watching the other class members trying to play basket ball, but the wind was to strong. If you tried to throw the ball one way, it would end up going the other way.

"This is insane" Mandy thought to herself "if we stay out here for the whole lesson we will freeze to death". She looked across and saw Billy shivering next to her. She looked around in an attempt to from a battle plan, and that's when she saw the gym through the haze.

"Sanctuary" she thought as the snow stung her face. She grabbed Billy's unsuspecting hand and began to lead him towards the Gym. The Blizzard was much more severe then it was this morning and it was much harder to get through. They finally reached the gym's doors and they both forced them open. The frozen doors finally burst open and Billy and Mandy both fell on the dry floor inside the gym. They quickly shot back up and struggled to close the doors behind them. After a couple of attempts, the doors finally shut and the Blizzard disappeared.

Mandy stood there, her hands on the door and her head hung low. The blizzard continued to rage on outside, but the gym gave a sense of calm. She turned her head to look at Billy who was standing in the same way against the other door. He chuckled a few times then began to talk

'Good idea Mandy' Billy said. Mandy watched the mist escape from his mouth

'Go see if you can find the heater in hear, I'm freezing' Mandy ordered. Billy nodded and they both turned around at the same time. They stopped in their tracks as they saw what had happened to their gym. There were colored streamers all over the roof, circular tables all over the floors and an empty space for the dance floor right in front of a stage that had the music gear on it. There was a romantic purple light streaming from the stage lights on the high, metal lighting rack behind the stage. Mandy laughed softly and her breath shot out in a stream of mist

'I forgot about the dance' she said. She quickly looked around for Billy and her eyes found him across the room

'Here we go' he yelled as the sound of turning on heaters started all around the gym. Mandy felt warm air quickly flood the gym and the room temperature started adjusting to a nice, cozy temperature. Mandy walked over and sat at one of the tables and Billy quickly joined her. He started fiddling with the white tablecloth as Mandy began to speak.

'Okay, we've got…' she looked at the clock on the wall 'forty minutes until the end of class'

'So we can stay in here for forty minutes' Billy asked stupidly

'Yes Billy' Mandy sighed 'we can stay in here for forty minutes'

*

Meanwhile out in the snow swept basketball courts. All of the students had almost given up on playing basket ball and the teacher had lost the energy to yell at them. He stood watching the students, most of them were just shivering, but some were still trying to play basketball. Suddenly his pocket started to shake. He pulled out his staff phone and answered.

'Yes headmaster?' he answered

'Mr. tel gado, get your students to the auditorium at once' the headmaster panted 'I just got off the phone with emergency services; the blizzard has been classified as a category four blizzard. And its getting worse'. Has tel gado gasped and quickly hung up the phone. He started to wade through the snow towards his students

'Listen up class!' he yelled over the storm with his powerful voice 'everyone hurry inside and head to the auditorium in a quick, calm matter!'. The students saw how serious he was and they quickly responded. Has tel gado started helping some students to their feet and quickly rushed them to the door. As soon as the last student entered the building, he gave one quick glance around to see if there were any students left, then he started to head back to the door. But he was blown of his feat by an especially strong wind. Then a loud, heavy creaking sound tolled out from behind him. He rolled over in the snow just in time to see something that made him gasp

*

'So he doesn't talk to you that much either?' Mandy asked Billy as she took a bite out of half the sandwich she didn't eat at lunch. Billy sat there eating the other half of the sandwich

'Yeah, ever since he became popular we don't talk that much' Billy answered.

'Well if you ask me I th-'. Mandy was cut of by a loud rumbling sound that yearned right through the gym. Suddenly the gym started to shake violently and it sounded like the building was falling to pieces. Billy and Mandy fell of their chairs and they both quickly crawled under the table. Heavy pieces of metal started to fall from the roof and land on the floor all around them.'

'What's going on?' Billy yelled

'I don't know!' Mandy yelled back. There was one more sudden loud crash.

Then everything went dark…

*

Has tel gado could only look on in horror at the gym. The storm had collapsed the roof of the gym and now all that was left was giant mound of snow, the occasional piece of metal sticking out. He took a few steps backwards towards the door, then quickly turned and ran inside, slamming the doors shut behind him.

**So now the story has started to pick up. Mandy and Billy were in the gym when the roof collapsed. And Has Tel Gado has no clue that they were in there. I just had to have him in the story, He is one of my favorite characters. Also sorry if I spelt his name wrong**


	3. 3: All Accounted For, Except

**Welcome…to chapter three. I hope you like the story so far. Now that things have picked up a little and we are done with the intro's, hopefully it will peak your interest a little more.**

**Chapter Three**

**All Accounted for, Except…**

Has tel gado's class was the last class to enter the auditorium. Every seat was taken up by chattering students nervously talking to each other. Has tel gado finished seating his class, then ran down to the stage where all the teachers stood talking to one another. He ran straight into the crowd of teachers, getting their attention. He took a few deep breaths, then looked up at the Headmaster.

'Victor, we might have a problem' he huffed. The headmaster looked at him for a second, then asked

'What is it Mr. tel gado?' he asked

'I did my attendance roll, and I'm missing two students'. The small crowed of teachers gasped softly and the headmaster interrupted

'Who, who is missing?'

'The dopey boy and his angry girlfriend'

'You mean Billy and Mandy?' one of the teachers asked

'Yeah' Has tel gado replied 'what's worse is another student from my class said they saw them going into the gym'. Everyone looked at him with relief

'Well at least they're inside and safe' another teacher said.

'That's the problem!' Has tel gado yelled 'the gym's roof has almost collapsed'. Every teacher gasped in horror once more as he continued

'The roof hasn't completely collapsed yet, but it could give way at any time'.

The teachers fell completely silent, then the headmaster stepped into the middle of the group.

'Alright!, Has, Dean and Anthony, you go call emergency services and tell them the situation, the rest of you except for tom and Sheryl, are to go to the cafeteria and set it up for the students. Let's do this quickly and keep the students safe'. The teachers broke of into groups and the headmaster and the two other teachers that were told to stay turned to the audience of students. The headmaster cleared his throat, and began

'Students!' he yelled as everyone responded by going deathly silent 'now, I understand you must be scared and confused, so I am going to explain the situation to you exactly as it is'. He took a breath and primed his voice once more.

'We are in the middle of a disaster, a category four blizzard. Now in a situation like this it is emergency procedure that we stay indoors. So this means that we will be staying here for the night, or at least until the storm dies down to a save level'. Murmuring started to rise amongst the students as the realization that this was a serious matter.

'So if you could all follow us to the cafeteria in a calm, orderly fashion'. The two teachers that were left started directing students out of the auditorium and every one stayed calm, all except one person, one headmaster

"I hope we can get to those two young students while there is still a chance…"

*

Mandy slowly opened her eyes. She could barley see through the darkness, but her eyes quickly adjusted to the level of light. She was still under the table and Billy was still sitting motionless across from her, his arm covering his head and hiding his face. She slowly reached over to Billy and shook his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes and started moving.

'Are you alright Billy?' Mandy asked. Billy moaned quietly, then shuffled out from under the table and stood up.

'Mandy!' he yelled. Mandy quickly shuffled out from under the table and stood up next to Billy. Her eyes widened as she looked around.

The gym was no longer the romantic room it was not so long ago, now it was a metallic wasteland. The floor was covered in large bars of metal that had fallen from the roof and the power had cut out completely. Most of the tables had either fallen over or snapped in half, and there were streamers and popped balloons all over the floor. Mandy looked up to see how the ceiling looked. Suddenly she felt an empty, sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach as she saw the state of the ceiling. It was just a tangled pile of metal that was being held up by a few beams that had managed to stay intact. It looked like a piece of art work in a strange way.

'Wh-what happened here?' Billy asked. Mandy answered without looking down at him

'By the looks of things, the roof collapsed' she said simply 'probably from the storm, this is a very old building as it is'

'Do you think we're safe?' Billy asked. Mandy looked over to the windows, then over to the door

'I hope so, because were completely snowed in'. Mandy looked back to Billy who looked at her also. Mandy noticed the trickle of blood running from the top of forehead, down his face.

'Uh, Billy you're bleeding' She said as she pointed at the blood. Billy slowly lifted his hand up to the blood and touched it carefully. He winced and suddenly started screaming

'Mandy! My brain is leaking out!' he screamed

'No you're just…' She stopped mid sentence, grabbed his wrist, and with the other hand picked up a napkin from the table.

'Stop squirming' Mandy demanded. But Billy would respond, he just kept squirming around. Finally Mandy pushed him until he fell on his back. She then knelt on him with one knee, holding him down, and placed the napkin on the open wound. She stayed like this for a few seconds until he calmed down.

'Now Billy, hold this here' Mandy ordered slowly and Billy whined out a yes. She then, without getting of Billy, reached over and grabbed her bag. She rummaged around in it for a few seconds until she pulled out a roll of sticky tape. She broke of a piece and placed on the napkin, sticking it to Billy's wound. It was a shocking job, but it was also she could do for him at the moment.

'There' she said calmly as she got of Billy and helped him up to his feet. Billy brushed the dust of his shirt and looked at Mandy

'Thanks Mandy, I thought my brain was leaking out' Billy said

'Yeah well, you've got to have a brain in the first place' She replied. She walked over to the heater panel and started pressing buttons to see if she could get it to work, but like suspected, she couldn't. She sighed and slid down the wall until she was on the ground, leaning against the wall.

'What do we do now?' Billy asked. Mandy found herself pulling her coat on tighter as she replied

'I don't know Billy…I guess we just wait for someone to come find us'. Mandy sighed and watched her breath carry across the room in the form mist. Billy walked across the gym and sat down next to Mandy. Billy sighed and watched his mist travel across the room as well. This made Mandy start to think

"I've never seen Billy this down, not since…it's not normal". She smiled and looked over to Billy, then back to the front. She took a deep breath and let it out, watching the mist travel further then before. She looked back at Billy. He slowly started to smile, then he took a deep breath and released a column of mist outwards. They both started to chuckle and Mandy took another deep breath….

**So that is the situation. the school is fine, Has came to his senses and noticed that they weren't there…oh and Billy and Mandy are completely trapped…how's that.**

**The principle "Victor Lazlo" is actually an original character created in tribute to the movie "Casablanca". His name was originally going to be Headmaster Dean Principle…but that was just too comical. **


	4. 4: Emergency Sevices At Your Service

**Welcome back. Now this chapter will be a short one, but it is still an important one. I try to make a point of every chapter playing a vital role in telling the story. A chapter that doesn't add to the story's plot is a wasted chapter if you ask me.**

**Chapter Four**

**Emergency Services at your Service**

Victor Lazlo**, **The headmaster, ran down the empty corridor towards the entrance of the school, his footsteps echoing after him. He had only just seen the yellow flashing lights of the emergency services thru the storm, from his office on the second floor and he was now rushing to meet them. It had been a full hour since the call had been made, and this worried Victor.

"Those poor kids, they must be freezing to death" he though as he ran round the corner. He paced the last corner and finally saw the emergency servicemen crowding into the school, wearing thick orange uniforms. Victor saw the one man that was wearing a yellow uniform an assumed he was the man in charge. The man noticed him as well and approached him. He stuck out a hand wrapped in a thick frosted glove to the headmaster.

'Lance Parker, I'm the head of this operation'. Victor grabbed his cold hand and shook it as more men walked inside

'Victor Lazlo, headmaster' he replied. Lance released his firm grip on Victors hand and brushed some snow of his thick jacket.

'So what is the situation exactly' he asked. Victor cleared his throat and began

'we have the students in the cafeteria set up with blankets and anything we could find to keep them warm' he said 'but there are two students trapped in the gym. The roof has begun to collapse and it's completely snowed under'. Lance stood there and nodded. He then turned to the ten or more men in the room and told them exactly what Victor just said to him.

'So that's it' he said to the other emergency servicemen 'Jarred, you take your group and go help the students in the cafeteria, William and Jake, your teams will follow Victor here to the gym where you will analyze the situation. But don't do anything until I return with the rest of the team'. The leaders of the groups nodded and split up, Jarred's team going past Victor to the cafeteria. Victor was just about to turn around, but he saw someone emerge from the white haze, someone he didn't expect.

'Grim' he yelled as the cloaked skeleton entered the school 'what are you doing here?'. Grim walked up to Victor calmly.

'Oh, hello headmaster Lazlo' he said slowly 'I was traveling with these guy's, because it just makes my job that much easier'. Victor looked at Grim with glinting eyes as he continued

'When I heard that we were heading here to help the students that had been trapped here by the storm, I decided I might as well take Billy home' Victor suddenly remembered…Grim was Billy's guardian. A wave of despair hit Victor like a ton of bricks; he was the one who would have to tell him.

'Grim' he sighed 'Grim…the kids trapped in the gym…one of them is…the boy is…Billy' Victor felt like he had just punched the grim reaper in the face. Grim stood there for a second, analyzing the situation.  
Victor and Grim had befriended one another due to the mountain of paperwork they had to fill out together so that the school would acknowledge that Grim was Billy's new guardian. He didn't want to hurt him with this news. Victor didn't know the exact details of why Grim suddenly became Billy's guardian, but he knew that Billy's parents weren't, around anymore. Victor felt Grim's bony hand suddenly grab his shoulder.

'We have to get him out of there!' he yelled. Victor grabbed Grim's hand and pushed it off his shoulder

'Calm down Grim!' Victor yelled, getting the attention of the other men in the room 'where doing everything we can'. Grim stopped suddenly, then sighed loudly.

'I'm sorry Victor' he said softly 'I'm just…'. Victor hesitated for a second, then placed a gentle and on his shoulder

'Its okay Grim, I understand' He said. Grim sighed once more and twirled his scythe in his hands. That's when Victor realized.

'Hey Grim, cant you use your scythe to get the kids out?' Victor asked with excitement. Grim looked at his scythe, then back to Victor. He slowly shook his head as he began to talk in a low voice

'Not my jurisdiction' he said simply. Victor didn't understand

'What do you mean?' he asked

'I reap the souls of people whose time has come' he started 'but in this situation I need to wait until I get the heads up from my boss, Fate. Death is actually a very delicate process'. Victor sighed out loud as he made sense of Grim's sentence. He knew all to well about having to wait for approval from the boss.

'Well at least we know they are still alive' he said. Grim nodded and began to talk once more

'Who is the other kid?' he asked in a much more normal tone

'A girl called Mandy' he replied. Grim chucked softly and Victor looked on in confusion.

'Well, at least we know they'll look out for each other' grim said a smile on his face.

Victor was confused, but he knew this wasn't the time or place to pursue it.

**Well well…why is Grim Billy's guardian. A question that is bound to be answered as we progress thru the story. Sorry about how out of character grim was. Some people try to add his accent into their stories, but I thought that a novelist wouldn't do this…soo, yeah.**


	5. 5: This Never Leaves The Room

**I would like to thank anyone who has put up with the story for this long. You are the true heroes. Anyway this is also a short one, but again it is an important one…that's all I really have to say…well, I guess you can…I dunno…read the chapter**

**Chapter five**

**This Never Leaves the Room**

'C'mon Mandy, pick dare' Billy pleaded as he sat against the wall next to Mandy

'No' Mandy simply replied, getting slightly aggravated

'But why not?' Billy whined

'Because every time I pick dare you make me sniff my own butt, and I'm getting sick of it. Its weird' she replied with an angry stare in his direction 'so pick the question quickly already before we skip it entirely'. Billy sighed and a thick jet of mist shot outward

'Fine' he agreed. Mandy pulled her jacket as tight as she could; it seemed to be just getting colder and colder.

'Would you…' Billy stopped to think of his question '…would you have slow danced with me at the dance tonight?'. Mandy looked at him, a little taken back by his question, but she answered it none the less.

'Billy, I don't dance, yet alone slow dance' she stated. Billy let out a slightly surprised "oh yeah" that made Mandy feel slightly guilty, so she continued.

'well, I guess if the situation called for it…say it was slow dance or sit at the geek table, then yes Billy, I would have slow danced'.

'I thought so' Billy giggled. Mandy sighed at his idiocy, and then started Giggling with him. But their giggling was cut short as the building started to creak once more. They both fell silent and watched the roof as it moaned out its twisted metal scream. Mandy swallowed her butterflies and placed her hand on her chest, her heart was beating a hundred miles an hour. The creaking stopped and they both stopped holding their breaths. Mandy felt her teeth start to chatter, so she started to rub her hands together to try and get warm, but she was so cold. She felt herself slowly move closer to Billy and strangely enough, she felt Billy move closer to her. They did this until they were leaning against each other. Mandy nearly jumped as she felt Billy's arm wrap around her, but she knew that she needed to do this just to stay warm. So she swallowed her pride…and put her hand across Billy's stomach.

And so there she was, snuggling with her best friend in order to stay warm. Something about this made Mandy feel slightly sick, but something else in her liked it. She looked straight forward and spoke.

'This never leaves the gym' she said bluntly

'Agreed' Billy replied quickly. And they sat their, completely silent as the large building started to creak once more. Mandy felt herself involuntarily grab Billy tighter as the creaking stopped. The silence ran out across the echoing hall. The only sound was the sound of the ticking clock that had managed to survive the incident. Mandy started at it.

"Its been two hours now…where is everyone?" she wondered to herself. And it was true. The time had ticked by and it was almost five o'clock now.

"In an hour people would have started to turn up here for the dance. Grim would have dropped Billy and me off and we would have watched Irwin magnetically attract all the girls". She felt a smile unfold on her face as she thought of how stupid Billy would have looked in his little suit and red tie. She would have worn a simple red dress that didn't stand out in the crowd, but still matched Billy's tie so that people new that they were there together and they wouldn't condemn her to the geek table. It would have all gone exactly to plan, which was the way Mandy liked things to unfold. She sat there watching her breath and listening to Billy's breath as well. And she prayed that someone was out there, trying to get to them.

**And there it is folks. It sure seems like that gym roof isn't very stable. And who knows what people do when faced with crippling cold…lol **

**I added that last little bit where Mandy was thinking of how the dance would unfold to show that Mandy was still…you know, a Girl. If I've noticed anything its that all girls seemed to have everything planned out. It's really eerie.**


	6. 6: To Rescue An Arguement

**Welcome to chapter six, The sort off halfway mark. This is one of the key chapters in the story so pay lots of attention, and some mysteries might just be revealed…or maybe not…I don't know. Read and find out**

**Chapter Six**

**To Rescue an Argument**

-Six o'clock-

'Keep that tarp up!' Lance yelled. 'Don't lose it.'

The men franticly tried to keep the tarp that protected them from some of the wind as they desperately tried to build some supports at the base of the frail building. But no matter how many people held onto the posts that dug it into the snow covered ground, the wind was to powerful and before they could do anything, the tarp and its poles flew off into the white haze. Lance cursed under his breath and turned to the other side of the building.

'Don't let that one get away as well!' he yelled at the men holding the tarp on the other side of the gym. He pulled his hood back on as the wind blew it of for the tenth time in as many minutes. The operation wasn't going quite to plan. The plan was to get some supports on the building as quickly as possible, then work on shoveling a path down to the front door through the mountain of snow. But they still hadn't set up the supports for the building, and it had almost been an hour now. The wind was too strong and the snow was too thick. He turned as he heard the sound of the truck pulling up behind him. He realized how thick the snow was on the ground, the truck was sunk into the ground up to the bottom of the door. Lance pulled the shovel out of the pack on his back and started shoveling out some of the snow around the door so that the driver could climb out. He stood in front of Lance and he stopped shoveling to look up at the towering man. He leaned in closely so the tall man could hear him.

'Is this the last of it!' he yelled to the man.

'Yeah, we can't get anymore scaffolding in this weather!' he yelled back to Lance. They both nodded to each other and Lance quickly turned as he heard his name being yelled from behind him. He looked on in shock as he watched the scaffolding on the right side of the gym start bend and waver in the wind until it finally fell backwards, launching the people who were on it tumbling into the snow along with the whole scaffolding bridge for the right side.

'Will!' he yell as he ran to William's now downed team. He ran up to the team leader and helped him to his feet.

'Are you okay' he said to Will

'Yeah boss, I'm fine' Will replied as he winced. Lance watched the rest of the second squad team rise slowly to their feet, a few of them tumbling back down due to the force of the wind. Will turned in the snow to look at the rest of his team

'C'mon men, get the scaffolding back up!' he yelled and the team slowly started to grab the scaffolding parts that were buried in the thick snow. Lance looked at the building once more as it creaked and some snow tumbled down from the top of the mound.

"Hang in there kids, were going as fast as we can" he though loudly to himself.

*

-Six forty five-

They had passed there awkward feelings about huddling together for warmth, it was to cold to be awkward. They had been sitting here for nearly two hours now, only getting up once to grab a table cloth to make it into a sheet to cover the two of them. They had spoken few words, mostly just things about their lives. Mandy pulled Billy into a tighter embrace, clinging onto what warmth she could. Her eyes were so heavy; all she wanted to do was go to sleep. But she couldn't, not now.

"I mustn't fall asleep, under any circumstances," she thought. She remembered her first aid training classes quite well.

"When people are in hypothermia they can slip quite easily into a coma, so don't fall asleep Mandy!" she yelled at herself in the privacy of her thoughts. She looked over to Billy, whose eyes were half closed.

"Ah, he's falling asleep!" she suddenly realised "I need to keep him awake."

So she did the only thing she knew would keep him awake, she slapped his face … hard. The slap echoed across the gym, causing it to creak a little. Mandy suddenly regretted what she just did as Billy turned his head to look at her, a fresh hand print developing on his face. The look of frustration and confusion in his stare made Mandy feel guilty, and she unwillingly showed this on her face.

'What was that for?' Billy almost yelled.

'You were falling asleep,' Mandy explained.

'So,' Billy shrugged, 'I need a good bit of sleep, I'm tired.'

'No!' Mandy yelled. Billy looked at her curiously and Mandy took a breath to regain her poise.

'We're both in hypothermia,' Mandy said.

'I don't know about you but I went to the toilet this morning,' Billy replied. Mandy ignored Billy's stupidity and continued to explain.

'It means that we have a dangerously low body temperature. So if we were to fall asleep our bodies might not be able to wake us back up.' Mandy watched as Billy desperately tried to make sense of what Mandy just said. When she noticed he still wasn't getting it, she talked it down for him.

'I had to slap you so you wouldn't fall asleep and die,' she said flatly. Billy just crossed his arms under the tablecloth and huffed.

'Well why didn't you just try to talk to me instead of hitting me,' Billy said. Mandy knew that Billy now understood, so she just sat back, not bothering to give him an answer. The two of them were still sitting up next to each other, but they were no longer huddling together. The building started its eerie groan once more and Mandy thought for a second that she could hear faint hammering sounds, but she dismissed the thought as Billy's voice started as the creaking finished.

'You always have to hit first and ask questions later don't you Mandy.'

Mandy was a little taken back by Billy's surprise statement about Mandy's aggressive way. She felt her normal, stern face start to set once more as she looked at Billy.

'What's that supposed to mean?' she questioned, getting slightly aggravated at Billy's outburst. Billy suddenly flung up out from under the tablecloth and stood towering above Mandy, a strange look of anger in his eyes.

'You know exactly what it means Mandy,' Billy snapped. 'You're always pushing me an' hitting me.'

Mandy looked up at the boy, her face unchanged.

'So?' she said calmly.

'So!' Billy repeated. 'Why do you do it then?'

Mandy started to frown in aggravation

'Because it's the only way to get through to your tiny brain, idiot,' she said with a bit more ferocity then last time. Billy pointed his finger down at Mandy.

'I'm not an idiot! Meanie.'

Mandy shot up to her feet, the tablecloth floating away with the force. She didn't know why, but she was suddenly so angry at Billy.

'I beg to differ,' Mandy said sharply. 'I've never met a dumber person in my life, you make poop slinging monkey's look smart.'

'At least I'm not a big, ugly, mean loner … that smells,' Billy said, but Mandy was quick to react.

'You can't even come up with an intelligent comeback,' Mandy stated. She always conquered any argument that the two of them ever had, and this was no exception.

'For a guy that thinks world cultures is a topping for pizza, you're in no position to mouth off.'

'Mandy … ugly … cruel …' Billy was at a loss for words as Mandy dominated the argument, raising her voice to deliver the final verbal blow.

'Your immense lack of intelligence is purely a joke for the dumber people that inhabit this lonely planet, and everyone knows it.'

That last comment was Billy's last straw. His face set into an extreme show of anger and he quickly approached Mandy and before she could react Billy thrust his hands out at her, pushing her back. She stumbled backwards for a few steps and finally fell down next to one of the floor speakers by the side of the stage.

"How dare he?" Mandy thought in a fit of rage, she was confused. Usually he would just agree with what Mandy had to say and she would offer him a way to fix it, but not this time. She looked up at his as he walked over to her and stood over her. Mandy felt the rage build up in her body as he looked down at her, until….

Whack!

She shot up and punched him hard on the bottom of the jaw. So hard in fact, that he fell down flat in front of her. He moaned in pain and Mandy cracked her knuckles. He looked up at her now towering over him.

'You truly are a joke Billy!' she said as Billy looked down at the ground so she couldn't see his face. 'This is exactly why your parents left you in the first place.' Mandy felt her stomach churn as she said her last statement

"Oh my god, did I just say that?" Mandy thought, her face did not change at all though. "That was too far." She usually knew when to stop, but something kept her going until she said the thing she least wanted to say. Billy slowly looked up and Mandy saw his face. A trickle of blood ran out of his mouth and his eyes were teary. Mandy felt terrible on the inside, but she didn't let it show on the outside.

Suddenly Billy shot up and pushed Mandy again, only this time it had much more force. Mandy flew back in what seemed to her to be slow motion … then there was a sudden cracking sound and Mandy's back suddenly hurt … then a buzzing, electrical sound … then … Mandy felt the most pain she had ever felt in her life…it felt like all her bones were jumping in and out of their sockets. She heard Billy scream her name, but she couldn't move. There was a loud pop sound and suddenly the pain stopped.

Mandy lay against the smoking floor speaker, her eyes lightly closed. She had been shocked severely by the floor speaker. Mandy slowly opened her eyes to the sound of Billy's voice.

'Mandy … Mandy,' Billy repeated softly as he crouched over her, holding her head up. Mandy lay there shaking, half from the cold and half from the pain she had just experienced. She groaned as she fully regained consciousness.

'Uh, Billy, what happened?' she said, her head pounding.

'Mandy, I am so sorry,' Billy said. Mandy winced and sat up against her shoulders, Billy still holding her head up.

'What Happened?' she asked again.

'You fell on the speaker, and it broke and electrocuted you' Billy explained. Mandy listened on in wonder. Suddenly something was different about him, something almost … smart. Mandy slowly stood to her feet and Billy made sure that she didn't fall over. She took a deep breath in, and exhaled. Billy took hold of Mandy and forced her to look him in the eye.

'Are you sure your okay Mandy?' Mandy looked at him, into his deep concerned eyes.

"Is he being … responsible …" Mandy looked down at her shoes as she began to talk.

'Y-yeah, I'm fine … just a bit cold,' she said. Billy slowly nodded and began to lead her back to the spot they sat at before, grabbing the tablecloth on the way.

'Well then let's keep you warm,' he said as he carefully placed her down against the wall. As Mandy sat down and Billy placed the tablecloth over her she sighed.

She was alright … she wasn't in pain or anything like that, the only thing was her arm felt really numb…but she more seriously felt like all her energy had been zapped from her body. She felt very weak and extremely tired, and she new that this wasn't going to help her body fight back the cold.

**OOOOOooooOOOo. This could make things interesting. Mandy's little run In with electricity has made her a lot weaker. And that electric thing was based on personal experience. Once when changing my music gear at a show I got electrocuted and it did feel like all my bones were lumping in and out of their sockets. It hurt … when I woke up five minutes later.**

**And before you yell at me about Billy being really OC in this chapter let me remind you. Emergency situations make everyone different. Some people handle it well, others … scream and panic. Billy handled it well.**


	7. 7: Full Grown Gossip

**Chapter seven eh … this one was a bit longer then I had thought it would be…but still important none the less. We've seen what's happening with Billy and Mandy. And we have also seen the Emergency service men … but what about Victor Lazlo and the rest of the school. **

**Let's find out.**

**Chapter Seven**

**Full Grown Gossip**

-Seven thirty-

Victor closed the cafeteria doors behind him, joining the hustle and loud noise of a school full of students in one room. He leant against the doors and shoved his hand into his hair; he was so frustrated and worried. He had left Grim marching up and down the corridor, trying to call his boss, but he had no luck thus far. He threw of his thick jacket and gloves as he realised how warm it was in here. Victor looked up at the students who were making a right mess and having fun, running around and chasing each other with the pillows that the emergency servicemen had provided. The students weren't wearing the thick clothing they came to school in anymore, they were back to just their normal school uniform. The tables had been pushed to the sides and there were thin mattresses set up in the middle. Victor walked over to one of the tables and sat down on the edge of it. He sighed as a group of girls that had been sitting in the middle on their mattresses saw him and quickly shot up and walked over to him in a group. His headache multiplied as the group of about ten students all asked him questions at once.

'Stop!' he yelled. The crowd went silent and watched him, waiting for his next words. He took a breath and finally continued

'One at a time kids.'

The questions came one at a time, but they were still said by random people.

'Is it true that this storm is never going to end?' one girl asked.

'Is it true that some of the school collapsed?' another girl quickly added.

'Will we ever get out of here?' another girl asked. Victor smiled at the concerned students and pointed to each student as he answered there questions.

'No, sort of, and yes' he answered. The students looked on at him and slowly nodded. Victor smiled at the little kids, He loved being a teacher. Then another question was thrown at him by someone he didn't see at first.

'What about Billy and Mandy?' a sweet girl asked. 'People are saying that they're trapped somewhere.'

The group all nodded and Victor's senses shot up. He went to tell the students a white lie, but his conscious caught him before he could, and all that came out was a deep exhale. He had never liked lying to his students; something about lying to something so innocent just didn't feel right to him. This fault had turned against him before and it was only going to do it again. He looked up at his students and gestured to the tables around him.

'Take a seat kids,' he said. The group reacted quickly and sat on the tables around him, the girl who asked the question sitting next to Victor. He took a deep breath and began.

'What I'm about to tell you … well, I would rather you not go around telling everyone in here.'

The students nodded but Victor new better. This was a middle school, and five minutes from now everyone and their mum's would know … but he felt they needed to know.

'Billy and Mandy …' he couldn't piece the words right, 'to answer your question from before, the roof of the gymnasium has partially collapsed … and Billy and Mandy, were in there when it happened.' He felt guilty as the group gasped softly. He straightened his suit and continued.

'Now don't worry, we have lots of emergency servicemen out there that are fully trained to handle these situations and we should have Mandy and Billy out before you know there even gone,' he said in a very gentle voice. The truth was he didn't know how close they were to getting them out; he hadn't had time to check. He had been to busy managing calls from concerned and angry parents.

'Well,' one of the girls began, 'I guess a couple needs some time alone with each other now and then.'

Victor looked at the girl in a confused way as another student interrupted.

'Actually there not a couple,' they said.

'What, really … but I thought they were going to the dance together?'

'They are,' another person piped in.

'Well doesn't that make them a couple?' admitted another.

'You would think so, but apparently not,' the original girl finished. Victor looked on in confusion, what were they talking about. Victor thought that they didn't even know each other. He looked at the girl and asked her.

'Wait a second, what is the story between Billy and Mandy?' he asked, knowing that he would get a wave of chatter and information.

'Well,' one of the center girls said. She took a deep breath and said the whole unbroken sentence in one quick breath. 'Billy and Mandy have been friends for ages and I thought they were together, well actually everyone thought they were, but anyway, when we found out that they were going to the dance together we started to ask questions. Billy and Mandy both deny that they like each other but it's painfully obvious that they do. I mean, they're always hanging around with each other and Mandy's always protecting him and I heard she even rejected Irwin back when they were in primary school just so she and Billy could be together.' The girl suddenly stopped and looked at the Headmaster, not short of breath at all. Victor just looked at her with wide eyes.

"How can she still be standing after that," he thought as he sat there in shock. He slowly opened his mouth and managed stutter out a few words.

'Uh-uh huh' he managed to say. He had gained all the information he needed to know about Billy and Mandy in turbo.

'So … they're kind of close then?' Victor asked, feeling kind of weird talking gossip with a bunch of kids.

'Are you kidding?' a girl burst out. 'Mandy hates it when Billy talks to another girl, and Billy feels about the same when Mandy talks to other boy's.'

Victor nodded as he slowly massaged his chin, feeling his five o'clock shadow.

"So they're close … does this make things better…or worse?" he thought as he looked at the ceiling lights. He looked at the group of girls who were staring at him, waiting for him to say something. He took in a breath and smiled warmly at them.

'So tell me then, what would you have all worn to the dance tonight?' he asked, taking their minds off the matter at hand. He listened on as the girls took turns explaining every little detail about the dance. What they would have worn, who they would have gone with, when they would have danced and to what song. They had the whole night planned and it made Victor glad that he was already married and didn't have to deal with the dating scene. But even with his caring glance at the students, he couldn't help but let his mind wonder back to Billy and Mandy.

"Good thing…or bad thing…"

**So that's their situation … pretty laid back, while Billy and Mandy are suffering and freezing. And that's typical Victor Lazlo, always investigating. So now you know what's going on there. Why don't we return to the real story … in the next chapter **


	8. 8: Mandy's Final Words Of Sorrow

**This is the big one folks. As if the chapter title didn't already say that. This one might get a little trippy. Just a warning**

**Chapter Eight**

**Mandy's Final Words of Sorrow**

-Eight forty five-

A single beam of light shone through the darkness. A beacon for Mandy to follow. The light seemed to be the only thing that mattered to her and all she wanted to do was follow it. But she couldn't, something was stopping her…a voice.

'Mandy …' the voice softly toned. 'Mandy…' Mandy slowly opened her eyes to see Billy kneeling down in front of her, shaking her shoulders. She was confused, where was she, what was happening.

"You're failing," a voice inside her head said softly. Mandy had trouble focusing her vision on Billy, it just kept on blurring.

'Stay awake Mandy!' Billy said, sounding clearer then before. Mandy felt weird, her body was reacting so slowly, her arm hurt more then before and she had one of those headaches that you get when you stay up too late. The strange thing was, she didn't feel tired at all.

"But you are tired" the voice spoke again. "You can barley keep your eye's open."

Mandy felt her head droop down again, but she quickly shot back up as the sing of a hand hit her cheek.

'Mandy!' Billy almost yelled. Mandy listened as the groan of the building sounded once more. It had been growing gradually louder each time and now dust and small bits of metal were falling down with it.

'Billy,' Mandy whispered, 'be quiet or your mum will come up here and tell us to keep it down,' she said as she sat on Billy's bedroom floor in front of the monopoly board. She had always been better then Billy at monopoly, and she had another advantage. She was better at staying awake, and it was one in the morning.

'Now Billy, it's your –' Mandy's world suddenly dissolved in front of her as Billy's voice brought her back to reality

'Mandy, we're not at my house, where at school, in the gym … now please stay awake,' Billy pleaded. Mandy watched as the memory disappeared and the grim reality set back in. She had no idea what was happening, until the voice in her head told her.

"Your brain is shutting down," it said, "you haven't got long now."

Mandy knew the voice was right. She was falling asleep, and there was nothing she could do about it. She vaguely felt Billy shaking her once more and he said something that she couldn't make out. Her hands were numb and her brain hurt, but there was nothing she could do. All she could do was … make things right.

'Billy,' she said. 'Billy … I'm … sorry.'

Billy looked at her with confusion in his eyes.

'Sorry?' he asked gently. 'What do you have to be sorry about.' He had never heard Mandy say that word to him before, not this seriously at least. She opened her eyes as wide as she could and stared at him.

'For everything Billy … for the … for the way I've treated you,' she struggled to say. She felt him slowly pull her up until she was only sitting upright with Billy's hands.

'I'm sorry for hitting you all those times … and calling you names … and an idiot … I know you're not one when … it comes down to it.'

The cold was getting the better of her as she slowly drifted back of to sleep once more, but Billy was there to stop her. She felt him shake her and shout her name once more.

'Mandy, wake up!' Mandy opened her eyes and looked back at his as he continued. 'You do those things because that's you Mandy, you don't need to apologise for anything.'

Mandy took a few staggered breaths and continued on where she left of as if Billy had never spoken

'Billy … I, only did those thing's … so, you would … hang around, because I … I …' Mandy felt her eyes start to close once more, and again Billy was there to stop her, shaking her once more.

'C'mon Mandy, stay awake … we just need to keep you moving,' Billy said. He paused and Mandy watched him look across the room, the he started to pick her up.

'There is still ten minutes left of the dance Mandy, there's still enough time for one last dance.'

Mandy flopped into his arms and he held her up with what strength he had left.

She felt her feet walking with his, but she had no say in where her feet went, they just walked on their own. Her vision started to blur once more as Billy almost carried her across into the dance floor. She tried to speak but she could not, all her body could do was move with Billy's like a rag doll with a drop of life in it. The rumbling of the building seemed like a mere ringing in her ear's now. Billy said something, but Mandy couldn't hear him, she could only see his lips moving. Her body drooped down in Billy's arms until Mandy's head was down to his chest. Everything started to get darker … and darker. She felt her head tilt back and her body give way until she was nothing but a limp person being held up by Billy. Her eyes started to once more close … but this time Billy was not there to save her … she couldn't hear anything. She felt warm water drop onto her cheeks … and then.

Nothing…


	9. 9: Flashes Of A Life Not Empty

**Chapter Nine**

**Flashes of a Life not Empty**

Mandy stood there and watched. She watched what she could not believe she was seeing. It was her house, her house on a spring morning. The sun was shining and birds were singing their morning tune. She walked across the quiet street to her house and went to open the door. But when her hand reached for the handle, something strange happened. Her hand fazed straight through the door handle. She quickly recoiled in shock.

"What's going on here?" she thought to herself. Suddenly she heard soft feet approaching from behind her. She stepped aside and off the path that led to Mandy's door. She then looked at the child walking to the door.

"Wait a minute," Mandy thought, "that boy…it's…Billy, when he was just a toddler … I remember this day."

And it was true; the boy was a young Billy. He walked up to the door and began to ring the doorbell repetitively. Suddenly the door flew open and a young Mandy stood there, looking at Billy with a surprised and slightly aggravated look on her young face. This however didn't stop Billy from ringing the doorbell.

'What are you, some kind of idiot?' the young Mandy said. Billy stopped and looked at her; he then smiled with his simple smile.

'You ain't got's no nose,' the young Billy stated. Mandy just slammed the door in his face. The older Mandy leap to hold the door open but as it got slammed in her face, she just fazed through it like her hand before. Getting over her momentary shock, she quickly looked around for the young Mandy and found her leaning against the door. Her eyes were wide open and she looked stunned.

"This was the day we met," Mandy thought.

Suddenly a flash of light shone in the older Mandy's eyes, forcing her to close them and put her hand in front of her face. The light faded and Mandy slowly lowered her hand and opened her eyes. She was no longer standing in house; instead, she was in her kindergarten classroom. She looked around in shock and saw herself sitting at the small table next to Billy. She had her usual, stern expression planted on her face, a completed sheet of very simple maths on her desk. The older Mandy smiled, no matter what year she was in, she always finished first. The five year old Mandy turned to look at Billy next to her. He was there concentrating on his sheet of paper as if he thought that it would complete itself if he stared hard enough.

'So you are an idiot are you?' the young Mandy asked Billy. She then leaned over in front of him.

'Just watch, it's easy … think of the numbers as pies …' A sympathetic face slowly made its way onto the older Mandy's face as she watched her former self commit to an obvious act of kindness towards Billy.

She winced once more as the blinding light shone again. The beam temporarily blinded Mandy and she was forced to shield her eyes. The bright beam dulled down once more and she opened her eyes to find herself in yet another new place. She quickly ignored the fact that she wasn't where she was before and went straight to looking around.

"Where am I now?" she wondered to herself as she looked across the blacktop. She was standing in the middle of a basket ball court, watching her younger self standing between Billy with the ball, and the basketball hoop. Other children were also running around, but the younger Billy and Mandy didn't take any notice to them. Mandy's mind snapped to the moment as she realised.

"This is year three P.E." she thought with shock running through her mind. "Why am I here now?"

'Just make a shot Billy,' the former Mandy said.

'Just you wait Mandy, this shot will make Michael Jackson proud,' Billy replied as he dribbled the ball in front of him.

'You mean Michael Jordan, Billy,' Mandy corrected.

'Whatever Mandy … here I come.'

Billy made moved to the left hoop and Mandy quickly jumped in his path, ready to take the ball from him. But he suddenly did a full one-eighty to the right, to get around Mandy, but he did it too early and collided into her face first, knocking them both down. Billy landed on top of Mandy as the ball rolled away. The older Mandy walked a bit closer to the two kids as they lay very still, she bent down to see her former self's face. A chill ran down her spine as she remembered exactly where she was. She smiled sarcastically as she spoke.

'Ah…yes, now I remember.'

The younger Billy and Mandy just laid there, staring at each other, both their lips warm. Billy had fallen on Mandy in just a way that their lips connected, and now they were too shocked to move. The older Mandy pinched the skin between her eyes, she remembered this moment very well.

'Hey look,' the voice of another student called out. 'Billy and Mandy are kissing.'

Slowly the rest of the students turned and started jeering and wolf whistling. Mandy quickly pushed Billy of from on top of her and sat upright, wiping her mouth with her arm. Billy did the same as they both blushed a bright red. The older Mandy shook her head in embarrassment. She then looked up at the sky and yelled.

'Okay, I get it, Billy and I are close friends … now can I go home!'

'I don't think you do get it,' a sharp and familiar voice toned from behind Mandy, making her jump. She quickly turned around and saw something quite strange. She was standing across from herself. This other Mandy looked exactly the same except for her clothing, which was completely different. Instead of Mandy's usual pink clothing with its signature flower on it somewhere, the girl was wearing all black, with a skull in the middle of her shirt. Mandy studied the identical girl.

'And who are you supposed to be?' Mandy finally asked.

'I am your inner self,' the other Mandy replied. 'I am everything you are inside.'

Mandy looked at her inner self with lazy eyes.

'That's great, now can I go.'

'Not until you realise why you're here,' Mandy's inner self said calmly.

'I already get it, Billy is my closest friend, and I care for him.'

'But you don't only see him as a friend, do you,' Mandy's inner self raised her hand and clicked, and at that moment the blinding light flashed once more. Mandy closed her eyes lazily and reopened them once the light died down.

She glanced around at her surrounding's and instantly new exactly where she was, she was in her room. She glanced over to her bed to see her former self sitting on the edge of her bed, looking out the window. She wasn't much younger then Mandy was now, less than a year she guessed. She had a very sad and sympathetic face on, the kind of face she only displayed when she was alone.

"There's only one thing I would be looking at through that window," Mandy thought to herself. She carefully moved over to a spot where she could see out the window. She looked across the moonlit street and straight into the window of Billy's room. She looked on as he sat on his bed, his head buried in his hands, fresh tears slowly leaking out of his eyes. Mandy sighed as she saw this.

"The day Billy's parents left," Mandy thought. She looked back at her younger self as she moved on the bed, leaning over to grab her mobile. She hit speed dial one and looked across to Billy's house, the older Mandy's eyes following. Mandy watched Billy look across at his phone, dry his eyes and clear his throat, then pick up his mobile.

'Hello,' Mandy could just here Billy's voice through the younger Mandy's phone.

'Hey Billy … it's me,' the younger Mandy replied.

'Oh … hey Mandy, what cha doing?' Billy said, trying to sound normal. Mandy sighed and continued to talk.

'Hey Billy, you want to sleep over at mine tonight?' Mandy asked. Billy wasn't aware that Mandy could see him through the window, so he didn't look at it.

'A sleep over at yours,' Billy said almost sleepily.

'Yeah, it'll just be the two of us; I've got the house to myself tonight.'

Billy sniffed back a dripping nose as he replied

'Okay Mandy … that sounds good.'

'Alright, I'll see you in a bit.'

'Yeah … give me a bit to get my stuff together and I will be over soon,' Billy finished. Mandy hung up the phone and fell flat on her back on her soft bed. The older Mandy just looked on at her, a small smile on her face.

'Do you see know?' Mandy's inner self said.

'What!' Mandy snapped. 'The kid's parent's just left because they couldn't stand him, he needed this kindness, and anyone would have done it … and besides, we're friends, we sleep over all the time.'

'Ah, but there are so many problems with what you just said,' Mandy's inner self interjected. 'You never ask Billy to sleep over at your house; it's always the other way around. And would you have offered this kindness to any other person?'

'I …' Mandy stopped. She thought she had an argument, but her inner self had a point. Mandy hated asking anyone for anything, yet she offered for Billy to stay at her house with her. And her inner self was right. She wouldn't have extended her arm to anyone else like this. Mandy looked back up at her inner self.

'This still doesn't prove that he is anything more then a friend to me,' Mandy said flatly. Mandy's inner self just laughed.

'Why try lying Mandy, I am you, I already know how you feel about him.'

'Prove it,' Mandy said. Mandy's inner self smiled at her and clicked her fingers. The bright light flashed once more and Mandy covered her eyes, once more. She quickly recovered once the light died down and she glanced at her new setting. It was Billy's room. Another Mandy was in the room, folding Billy's cloths and neatly placing them in his draws.

'This was only a couple of weeks ago Mandy,' Mandy's inner self said. 'Can you explain to me what you are doing at the moment?'

Mandy looked at herself, and then at her inner self.

'The guy was living in a pig sty; I was just cleaning up abi–'

'But you hate any form of cleaning Mandy,' Mandy's inner self interrupted. 'You even started using Grim Less for your chores once he became Billy's Guardian.'

Mandy looked on at her inner self with disgust. She hated it when she wasn't right, even though ironically, she was right. The younger Mandy looked at the door as Billy came in. she quickly threw the cloths in her hand back into the pile that they came from before Billy could see her holding them.

'Hey Mandy, I'm ready to go to the circus now,' Billy said, exited.

'It's about time you idiot, it's like your slower then a snail,' Mandy said as she grabbed his arm and led him out of the room and to the front door.

'Admit it Mandy, you need him,' Mandy's inner self said sharply.

'That's an over exaggera–' Mandy was interrupted.

'You feel for him Mandy.'

'I don't need!'

'You couldn't live without him!'

'Your twisting my.'

'You love him!'

The room went silent as Mandy's inner self said her final sentence. Mandy bit her lip and clenched her fist's. She didn't look up at her inner self as she continued.

'And you can't stand it …' Mandy felt her blood boil and her face began to blush. 'How can you, love someone … it's a sign of weakness,' Mandy's inner self mocked.

'So what!' Mandy snapped. 'Who cares if I … love, him … and I'm not saying I do, but … it doesn't matter now.'

'Oh, why do you say that?' Mandy's inner self asked curiously. Mandy calmed down as she started her sentence.

'I'm dying anyway, aren't I?' she said glumly. 'And this whole experience was supposed to be some lame ass version of my life flashing before my eyes … am I right?' Mandy had worked it all out by the third flashback. And she willingly accepted her fate, though she didn't like it.

Mandy's inner self slowly smiled.

'And this is what you believe is it?' She asked. Mandy nodded.

'And this whole time you've been using this excuse to channel some bogus story about my whole life revolving around Billy.'

Mandy's inner self smiled on at Mandy and it made her feel uneasy.

"Looks like I didn't expect myself to be smart enough to work all that out," Mandy thought to herself. But something about her inner self's smile made her feel unsteady and confused. The silence between them was only broken by the sound of the younger Billy and Mandy clicking the door shut behind them as they left the house.

Mandy stared at herself, and she stared back with mischievous eyes. Mandy's inner self finally broke the silence with an offer.

'Okay then Mandy, if you're so sure that you're not in love with Billy, then how about we make a little wager.'

Mandy looked at herself with content in her eyes. She hesitated, but eventually replied.

'What kind of wager?' she asked.

'It's very simple really,' Mandy's inner self said, 'you can travel onto the next life, keeping your memories and more importantly, your memories of Billy … as you normally would when you cross over … or … I can revive your life. You would wakeup and continue to live in the mortal world.' Mandy's left eyebrow slowly raised at the proposal, but she didn't stay that happy once her inner self finished her sentence.

'But you would lose all of your memory's of Billy!' she finished. Mandy gasped out loud unwillingly. She looked on at the darker version of herself, shocked at her offer. She slowly brought her hand up to her heart … it wasn't beating at all.

'Well Mandy … what will it be?' Mandy's inner self asked, impatiently tapping her foot.

'I …' she couldn't force a word out. She welcomed the prospect of another life with open arms. There were so many things she hadn't done yet. She hadn't seen Paris, caused a mass riot, driven a car, and though she hated thinking about it, she hadn't had sex either.

But the thoughts of Billy weighed down heavily on her.

Mandy was so lost in her thoughts that at first she didn't even notice that the room had faded away and she was now standing in nothingness.

"Life … or Billy?" were the words Mandy's mind kept repeating, each one backed up with a convincing argument.

"I can't die now, I'm just too young, there's too much I haven't done," she thought. "But then that would mean forgetting Billy … can't I bring myself to do that. He's been around for as long as I can remember and I … I like him … maybe … even … love."

Mandy's thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

'Well … I'm waiting, what's your answer?' Mandy's inner self asked.

'I … I …' Mandy couldn't bring her self to say her answer.

"Life … or Billy … Life … or Bill –"

Her thought patters were invaded as a picture of Billy's smiling face entered her mind, filling Mandy with strange feelings. She clenched the clothes around her chest tighter. For some reason she wasn't wearing her large winter clothes anymore, she was just in her normal clothes. She felt her shirt tighten as she increased her grip on it as she thought of Billy. And then –

Bump.

Her heart beat a single time. And it was then that she knew what she had to do.

'I can't do it,' Mandy said. 'I can't just leave Billy, leave everything about him behind. I … care, about him too much.'

Mandy felt warm water trickling down her face. She raised her hand up and slowly picked it of her cheek and held her finger out in front of her.

"A … tear … But I never cry."

Mandy started to wipe her eyes clean as she sniffed back more tears.

'So go ahead,' Mandy said. 'Send me to the next world. I'm ready'. Mandy stopped wiping her eyes and stood very straight. Tears still rolled down her cheeks, but she ignored them. Instead she just looked at her inner self with stern eyes.

Mandy's inner self looked back at Mandy with the same serious face. But a smile slowly made its way onto her face, until she was smiling almost evilly. Mandy was confused.

'Mandy,' she said, 'sacrificing your life just for the memory of Billy is exactly what I wanted to hear.'

She raised her hand once more until it was next to her face.

'Don't forget what you learned here Mandy, just in case you ever want to … tell Billy something,' and with that she clicked and the bright light beamed into Mandy's eyes, much brighter then before.

**And that was chapter nine. Mandy's inner experience. Sorry there was no authors comment at the end and start of the recent chapters. But it builds up dramatic effect. You know, it's so serious that there is no comment. **


	10. 10: The Morning After The Mourning

**Chapter ten. You're almost finished. But where can the story go now you ask. Well … why don't you read on and find out. **

**Chapter Ten**

**The Morning after the Mourning**

Light slowly began to shine through Mandy's eyelids. A strange and unfamiliar light. The smell of rubber and talcum powder filled Mandy's nose. A beeping sound toned once every few seconds and there seemed to be a soft electrical buzz in the background. She struggled with her eyelids, demanding that they open and after a few attempt's they finally obliged. The light grew brighter as her eyes opened wider and when they were completely open she saw that she was looking at a ceiling. But not the ceiling of the gym, or the ceiling of Billy's room or any other familiar ceiling she could think of. The roof was a bright white and a single light hung directly above her head. Her senses slowly came to her and she realised she was in a soft, clean bed. She painfully pulled her head of the pillow and first looked across to her left where the beeping sound was tolling from. A jumble of wires and electrical devices sat next to her metal framed bed, some machines beeping and some with flashing lights. Mandy followed one of the tubes that ran of the machine with her eyes. It traveled towards her and under the blanket that was placed on top of her. She could feel the needle in her arm. She looked across her bed as she saw movement next to it.

Mandy's mind was still slow, so it was a few seconds before she realised that the drowsing figure sitting on a chair next her was someone she new. She tried to say the name, but her words would not come out. The figure sat very still, his head bowed down and his eyes closed. The figure was sleeping. Mandy slowly moved her hand out from under the blanket. Her body was stiff and slow, but it eventually arrived at its target. She dropped her hand softly on the knee of the other person. She tried to speak again and had more success this time as she softly shook the figure and croaked his name.

'Billy…' Mandy struggled to say. 'Billy…'

The boy slowly opened his eyes and looked lazily at the hand on his knee. Suddenly he seemed to realise the full extent of this hand as his eyes almost bulged out of there sockets. His attention then shot quickly to Mandy's face.

Before Mandy had time to say anything, the boy had shot up and run out of Mandy's view. Mandy dropped her head back down on her pillow, her brain hurting with confusion.

"Am I dead," she thought. "Is this afterlife"? She stared at the light beaming down at her. "But that was Billy."

She vaguely remembered her argument with herself, but much of it was blank in her mind, as if it were all only a dream. Her strange and blotchy thoughts were interrupted as a tall figure, shadowed by the light above, stopped and stared down at her. Mandy could vaguely make out the shape of the man's face, it was unfamiliar. The man reached down with his gloved hand and pried Mandy's left eye completely open. He then shone a bright light in her eyes, brighter then the light of the roof. He then moved over to Mandy's other eye, softly talking in the meantime.

'Can you hear me Mandy?' the man questioned.

'Yes,' Mandy answered more clearly then before as if the light was helping to reactivate Mandy's brain and body. The man pulled away and held the back of Mandy's head. He aided her as she sat upright against the wall behind her bed. From her upright position she had a better view of the room around her. She sat in a large, circular room. A green carpet covered the floor. Approximately five other beds surrounded the circular room, all with a similar set up as Mandy's bed. The room could have fit many other beds in it, but the limitedness of the room made it seem calm. Two of the other beds were occupied by people. One of them, an old man, sat reading a thick and old book while the other lay sleeping. In the center of the large, windowless room was a rounded desk at which a nurse typed at a computer. The room was all quiet except for the electrical sound and the beeping.

Mandy's eyes focused on the figures standing around her bed. A doctor, two nurses and Billy all stood looking at her. It seemed she was the most interesting thing to have happened in a while.

'Well, glad to see you awake for the first time Mandy,' the tall doctor said. 'All in all you're lucky.'

Mandy's gaze slowly drew to Billy. He had a bandage wrapped around his head and his normal, almost goofy look across his face. She stared at him as he looked back at her sweetly. She wanted to say his name, but something in her mind told her that the silent stare they held was good enough. The doctor obviously noticed Mandy's stare and commented.

'You should thank him you know,' the doctor said quickly. 'He saved your life.'

Mandy looked at the doctor, then back to Billy, then back to the doctor.

'Billy, saved me?' Mandy said.

'He sure did Mandy,' a tall man in a bright yellow jacket said, seemingly coming from nowhere. 'He kept you breathing until we managed to get to you.'

Mandy looked stunned at the new man. She had never seen this man in her life, and now that she though about it, the only familiar face in the room was Billy's.

She looked back to him and he still looked at her with his reassuring stare and she wondered to herself.

'How did Billy keep me breathing?' she finally asked. The doctor was the first to answer.

'He managed to perfo–' the doctor was cut of by Billy who shook his arm desperately. The doctor looked down at the boy and Billy let go of the doctor's arm.

'It's probably better that you don't tell her,' Billy said calmly, his face turning bright red. Mandy looked at him with a strange feeling. She felt a fuzziness at the end of her hands, her chest seemed to be filled with fluttering birds and she couldn't move her eyes away from his face.

Mandy was startled as the doctor grabbed her face softly.

'Are you still feeling okay Mandy?' he questioned, almost panicking.

'Uh-yeah,' Mandy replied hesitantly. The doctor moved away from her and she touched her face, noticing that she had been blushing which must have alarmed the doctor.

She cursed her own body in her mind and rested her head back on her pillow. She was so tired and didn't really want to talk to a wave of curious doctors and nurses and mysterious men. She felt their presence move away and she shifted her weight to look at the boy who sat back down next to her, looking at her with his goofy but gentle eyes.

She felt a smile force its way onto her face and she slowly closed her eyes.

"_You made the right choice Mandy"_ a mysterious voice in her mind said to her.

"Is that why I'm still alive?" Mandy felt compelled to ask herself.

"_Sleep now Mandy, you earned it"_. And as if the voice had some magical power over her, Mandy fell asleep.

**Ah. That's where the story can go. This chapter was so hard to write. I haven't had much experience in hospitals so I wouldn't know much about them, only vague memories. But I thought I did it quite well. Its actually one of my favorite chapters.**


	11. 11: Rest And Recuperation

**You're so close to the end now. So I would just like to take this opportunity to read this far. This one here is a bit artsy and emotional. So just to warn you there is a mushy feel to it. **

**Chapter Eleven**

**Rest and Recuperation**

The sun was warm. Warmer then she had ever remembered it being. It seemed like forever since she felt the gentle caress of the sun on her skin. The easy light made the clouds seem golden and more real. A layer of snow covered the ground in its white, the trees seemingly blooming snow. A single bird sung to the newly risen sun, its chirp the only sound that echoed through the hospital courtyard. Mandy had found that this was her favorite place in the hospital. It was a small garden that overlooked the entire city. She had only found it not ten minutes ago and she found herself instantly in love with the sight.

Love. This was a confusing notion to her at the moment.

A soft, chilling breeze blew through the garden, chilling Mandy. She lightly touched her wounded arm that hung in a sling as it ached due to the breeze.

What she had experienced seemed only to be a dream to her now. The events that had taken place in the gym were blurred in her memory, but at the same time, they were crystal clear. Though she couldn't remember it, she knew it happened.

She pushed the one bit of hair that flapped in front of her face, behind her ear and held her stare at the horizon.

'There you are Mandy,' Billy's irreplaceable voice said from behind her. Mandy didn't turn to look at him as he stopped beside her. She just held her gaze. 'It's a bit cold out here, you should be resting.'

'I just wanted,' she began to speak softly, as if in a trance. 'I just wanted to see the sun rise.'

Her mind was not on her words and it wasn't until now that she realised that Billy was even there. She slowly turned to look at him, and a blush slowly grew across her face. She quickly looked at her shoes, dinted in the snow.

"Curse my body," she said to herself.

A cold wind howled through the two as they stood staring in different directions.

The silence was deafening.

Mandy couldn't bring herself to look at his face. Too many strange emotions were flowing through her. And she didn't know how to handle them. Or how he would handle them …

Mandy was already sick of this hospital. The doctor had forced the two of them to stay for the day just passed, just to make sure they were over the hypothermia. Her parents had already come through to do their half assed check up on her. And to Mandy's liking they were gone within half an hour. And after that she was pretty much left alone to sleep. But all this free time had given her mind time to recover and realise the ramifications of every event that had taken place.

And the one question that kept coming to her was …

"Why am I still alive?"

'I,' Billy started 'I am happy to see you walking again,' he said in a very soft, caring tone. Mandy still found peculiar to hear Billy talk so … seriously.

'Th-thanks…how does your head feel?' Mandy asked.

'Yeah, it feels pretty much just like it did befores.'

'Damn,' Mandy said. Billy looked at her, confused. 'I was hoping you might be able to count to ten now.'

They both let out a soft chuckle, just like they used to. Before Middle school, before Billy's parents left, before teenaged emotions. Before everything.

The same awkward silence fell over the pair and a chill wind blew through once more. Finally Mandy's emotions got the better of her. And she lost control.

'Billy I –' she paused, realising as she looked into the stupid yet sincere eyes of the boy on her mind. 'Thank you'.

'For what?' Billy asked, a little shocked that she said those two words

'For … well, as you would say, for befores'

'Befores what's?'

'Just thank you for everything recently,' Billy's expression became a little more serious, so Mandy continued. 'This whole … experience has truly been something. And the whole time you were there for me, even when I wasn't there to see it. You may think that you need me. But the truth is … I need you Billy. Without you, I don't think my life would be where it is at the moment.'

Billy's shocked face made Mandy slightly scared yet satisfied at the same time. Scared to say what she wanted to say, but also satisfied for saying it.

'It's really showed me how much I …' she stopped, and let out a deep breath. 'Thank you, Billy.'

And with that she walked back towards the warmth of the hospital. Although she stopped just at the doors, and turned back to look at the shocked Billy.

'C'mon idiot, are you two dumb to put one foot in front of the other,' Mandy said sharply. Billy slowly smiled.

'I'm not dumb,' he said as he ran next Mandy and they started to head down the corridor.

'Yeah, yeah Billy, now let's get a drink or something…on you.'

'That's not fair Mandy…'

**So Mandy is more open to her feelings for Billy now, Amazing. And Billy sounds as if he's had a revelation as well. He sounds like he's done a bit of growing up doesn't he. Makes me wonder what he did to save her … (hint)**


	12. 12: The Aftermath

**Well this is chapter twelve. The storm is over and life is returning to normal by the sound of things. But what's happened to Billy and Mandy after it all was over.**

**Time to find out.**

**Chapter Twelve**

**The Aftermath**

The bell finally rang to signify the end of the period, And Mandy had never been more glad to hear it.Math'swas a boring class to begin with, so that was enough of a reason to want to leave. But Mandy had other reasons.

She slowly packed her writing book and thick physics textbook into her bag, being careful not to bump her broken arm, suspended in its sling. The fact that her arm was broken angered Mandy.

"Damn my weak and feeble human form," she thought as she placed one strap of her bag over her good shoulder. "If only my body were more sturdy, more like a worm … or a snail or something."

She walked out of the classroom and into the busy corridor. The corridor always seemed to be busier between fourth and fifth period then any other time. It was probably due to the fact that this was the last class of the day. But the chatter was different then a normal day today. All around Mandy all that was talked about was … the up and coming "Winter Snow Ball". It was the schools alternative to their winter dance. But much to Mandy's comfort, this one was to be held in the functions room in the "Hyatt Hotel". A nice … sturdy location for a dance.

Mandy glanced out a window as she walked, seeing a light snowfall trailing down outside. Mandy had found a strange love for the innocence of snow. She didn't understand why she now liked snow, she just liked it now.

She finally stopped at her locker and began to painstakingly work the dial lock with one hand, grunting every time the dial turned incorrectly. She finally opened it and shoved her bag into it, opening up the bag to grab out the sketch pad and pencil case she would need for her next class.

'Morning, Many,' a sharp, irritating voice shot though Mandy's ears, a voice she knew all to well. She turned to face the other girl.

'Jenny,' Mandy said flatly, slamming her locker shut. 'What do you want.'

'I just wanted to tell you that I'll be going to the dance with, Irwin, the star quarter back,' Jenny bragged. Mandy felt a strange pang of déjà vu, or she did until…

'Mandy!' Billy yelled from across the corridor, running like a maniac. Mandy saw him coming directly at her with such speed that an idiot would not be able to stop.

'Billy, stop!' Mandy yelled, starting to turn. But it was too late.

Billy crashed into Mandy face first, knocking her down, himself falling on top of her.

There was a moment of silence as Billy lay on top of her, then –

'AHHHH!!!' Mandy screamed from the pain of her broken arm. 'You idiot get off!'

'Oh, sorry, Mandy,' Billy said. Mandy just kicked him off. She slowly rose up to her feet, grabbing her arm.

'Sometimes Billy, I just want to–'

'I said I was sorry,' Billy whimpered. Jenny just stared at the two of them.

'Huh,' she huffed. 'I guess you two will go together then.'

'Go to what?' Mandy questioned, Billy sliding in next to her.

'You know,' Jenny said slyly, 'The Snow Ball'.

Mandy felt an eyebrow rise at this. It was a question she had been asked many times that day, and she was surprised that gossip hadn't spread this far.

'Jenny,' Mandy began. 'That is a stupid question and you know it.'

'I spose,' she said slowly.

'Billy and I –' she paused.

…as Billy slipped his hand into hers…

'Are obviously going to the dance together. We are together, of course.'

Jenny smiled a wide grin that could have fallen of given the chance.

'I always knew you two were made for each other,' Mandy felt herself blush. 'Especially after you turned down Irwin … crazy.'

Mandy stared Jenny in the eyes with her trademark death stare.

'Jenny,' she began. 'When will you silly little pretty princesses realise. Irwin is a turbo nerd. The sooner you see this, the closer you are to truly seeing yourself.'

Mandy didn't give the girl a chance to say anything in reply. She simply strolled away towards her art class with Billy strolling close by next to her, his hand wrapped around hers. For one of the first times in her life, Mandy felt truly right.

'I think …' Mandy stopped mid sentence, realising she was talking out loud

'Thinks what Man-day'.

Mandy let the air out of her lungs in a half exhale half laugh thing.

'I think I'm in the mood to draw some snow…'

**The end … it looks like Billy and Mandy have finally admitted to their feeling for each other. Good for them. And life seems to be right back on track. The Man-Day thing is sort-of something that only the person it's connected to would get it. I hope they read the story. Or that will have been a wasted quip. **

**and that's the end … or is it … read on**


	13. 13: Epilogue

**Well…I think because you've read this far, you've achieved the right to know what actually happened on that dreadful blizzard night … thru the eyes of Billy**

**Epilogue  
**

Billy stood over the now fading Mandy. Her eyes were low and hazy and her breathing was stagnant. She seemed to be faint and her mind was not on the current disaster. Billy now shook at her shoulder, in an attempt to bring her back to reality.

'Mandy!' he yelled right to her face 'we're not in my house, we're at school, in the gym…now please stay awake' Billy pleaded.

Billy's words seemed to reach her for a second but then she fell back into her daze

'Please Mandy…for me' Billy said, his eyes swelling slightly

'Billy' she said 'Billy…I'm…sorry'. Billy looked at her with confusion in his eyes.

'Sorry?' he asked gently 'what do you have to be sorry about'. He had never heard Mandy say that word to him before, not this seriously at least. She opened her eyes as wide as she could and stared at him

'For everything Billy…for the…for the way I've treated you' she struggled to say. Billy grabbed her back and pulled her until she sat upright 'I'm sorry for hitting you all those times…and calling you names…and an idiot…I know your not one when…it comes down to it'.

Billy's heart pounded, his hands ached form the cold, his nose dripped, but his face was warm and bright red. Mandy did care for him after all. Her eyes started to flutter shut once more and her breathing slowed.

'Mandy, wake up!' Billy yelled at her 'You do those things because that's you Mandy, you don't need to apologize for anything'. Billy had known this to be true, but under other circumstances he wouldn't have had the guts to say it

'Billy…I, only did those thing's…so, you would…hang around, because I…I…' Mandy's eyes started to close once more

'C'mon Mandy, stay awake…we just need to keep you moving' Billy said. He looked around and spied the empty dance floor. It was dusty and bits of metal littered it, but it was mostly clean. He then looked at the clock and noticed the time.

'There is still ten minutes left of the dance Mandy, there's still enough time for one last dance'. Billy picked her up and she flopped into his arms. She was heavier then he remembered her being, and it took some effort to take her to the dance floor.

He moved her along to the music that played in his mind, waltzing clumsily left and right. But she was not responsive. She began to sag down in his arms as he lost his grip on her. He desperately grabbed at the back of her clothes, just holding her up.

The building crashed quite loudly and a large chunk of metal crashed down with great force onto the ground where Billy and Mandy were just sitting. Billy stared at the piece of metal with wide eyes. If they had just stayed there for another minute or two then they would have been crushed.

Billy's attention quickly shot back to Mandy as she started slipping out of his hands and down onto the floor. Billy felt a warm droplet of water roll down his cheek and fall onto Mandy's cheek. She slipped down out of his hands and onto the floor

'Mandy' Billy yelped as he knelt down beside her 'Mandy…' he said again. But she wasn't moving at all.

He slowly put his ear to her chest…she wasn't breathing.

A pang of shock ran down Billy's chilled back.

'Mandy!' he said again. His brain ached as he thought back to his first aid classes 'ah, why didn't I pay attention!' he yelled.

'Okay then' he reasoned 'place your palm flat on the person's chest, and open their airway's'. Billy shuddered as he parted Mandy's lips apart. He bent his face down until it was inches away from Mandy's. He took one jumpy breath inwards…then took the plunge.

Mandy's lips were very cold under Billy's, but so was everything else. He pulled away and started to slowly push on Mandy's chest. He attempted to sniff back his tears, but they were falling to quickly now

'Mandy's' Billy sobbed 'please wake up…please…I need you'.

He pursed his mouth over hers again and gave her air. He then shot back up and started applying pressure again

'Mandy please' He said with a little more composure 'ever since my parents left I haven't been able to live without you' more tears started to flow freely and his voice cracked 'you don't think I see you doing all those things to help me, but I do Mandy…and I like it'.

A loud crash hit the door and Billy quickly flicked his gaze in its direction. To his shock he saw shadows moving just beyond the door windows.

"Could it be" he thought to himself "people". Billy strained his voice trying to yell, but all that escaped was a squeaky yelp of words.

The door window suddenly shattered inwards as a shovel was forced thru it. Instantly the wind whistled thru the hole, snow flying inwards

Billy lent down once more and Breathed for Mandy, rising to apply pressure to Mandy's chest.

'Is anyone in there?' a booming voice yelled as the door crashed again. Billy tried with all his might to form a word, the only word he could form at the time

'Help!' he almost yelled.

He could here muffled shouting, then the doors burst open and a group of large men burst into the room, collapsing on the floor. The true force of the storm blew thru the gym, instantly making everything seem more alive and real to Billy.

A man in a bright yellow Jacket that was different from the rest was the first man to reach the boy. He fell to his knees next to the boy and looked at Mandy.

'She won't breathe mister' Billy whimpered 'she won't breath'.

Suddenly Billy was grabbed from behind, and before he could realize, he was being dragged away from Mandy.

'Don't worry' the yellow coated man said 'she'll be fine'

*

They had wrapped Billy in the warmest blanket he had ever felt and rushed him into an ambulance. He was soon joined by two people he assumed were the paramedics, pulling in Mandy who was lying motionless on a stretcher.

The ride in the ambulance was quick and blurry in Billy's mind. He vaguely remembered getting a needle from one of the paramedics, and he also just remembered Bandage the man wrapped around Billy's bleading head. But all that worried him was Mandy.

When they finally got to the hospital they were met by a small army of doctors and nurses that instantly drove Mandy on her bed into the large hospital ans down the corridor. Billy felt a compulsion to follow her everywhere, to be as close as he could

'Get an E.P.G in her' one doctor said

'She's streaming' another replied.

'It looks like her arm is broken'

They finally stopped her in a large, warm round room that was mostly empty. The one or two patients who lingered in there were quickly alerted to the excitement…

'We need a Vencor Anthemia drip'

'She's starting respiratory failure'

'Bring that up nurse'

Billy could do nothing but stand slightly back, unable to see Mandy thru all of the doctors and nurses. All he could do was hope. He didn't give a second thought to the doctor analyzing him, shining lights in his eyes and checking his bandaged head as he stood there…

'She's slipping into full respiratory failure'

'Performing C.P.R'

'Get that respiratory breather!'

Billy could feel his hands shaking by his sides, but all he could do was watch…all he could do was pray…

'She's almost in full neural shutdown'

'I know!'

'Damn, she's gone into cardiac arrest'

'Charging dephribulator'

He felt like the room had faded away, and all that was left was him and Mandy. He looked into Mandy's eyes, she looked back at him

"I…chose…you…" she seemed to say in the silence

'Clear'

'Nothing, charge again'

'Clear'

'She's not pulling thru'

'…I'm calling it…time of death…twenty one thirty fiv-' the Doctor stopped as he saw the small boy in the corner of his eye, watching everything.

Billy wanted to say something…something very important…but he couldn't…

…She was gone…

**And that's it folks…The End. I must say that this story has been quite a journey. Its taken approximately a year and a half of slow, painful writing to achieve something that I am proud to post on fan fiction. I would like to thank anyone who reviewed and read thru it and put up with the spelling and grammar mistakes. And also I would like to thank CatHatGirl…for inspiring this story with her mega famous BillyxMandy story "The Billy Incident". You're too great to me. Listen to me, I sound like I've just won an award. I guess I'm just proud that I finished.**

**And just for the people that are confused about the ending I think I should clear it up. I first of all refer you to chapter nine: flashes of a life not empty. In the part where Mandy's inner self gives her the option of life or Billy, she chooses Billy. Also in chapter ten: the morning after the mourning, she asks if this is the afterlife.**

**Then I refer you to Chapter eleven: Rest and Recuperation. Where she asks herself, "Why am I alive".**

**So by choosing Billy, She crossed over to the afterlife.**

**There hopefully you understand now. If not, tell me and I'll try better to explain.**

**Thanks again…**


	14. Credits andPromos

**Credits and…promo's**

First of all I would like to thank all of my readers and especially all of the people who reviewed. With out you guys there would be no reason to write the thing. I know its sappy, but don't worry…there's going to be the promo for my next story in here as well.

Next I would like to thank my editor Nicole. Without her my spelling and grammar would have been about ten times worse then it already was. And I would like to thank my friends…for telling me that writing a romance novel based on a cartoon was really, really lame for a dude to do.

And I will thank my band for getting angry at me for writing at practices. Though that seems bad, their criticism only pushed me further.

And I would like to thank Tricky Tiara for doing a wonderful fan art.

And that's all the people that I can think to thank right now…so its promo time.

Now this is going to be the next story that I will be posting as a whole story in one post. So your reviews on this chapter will help the writing process a lot. Its going to be a Mystery suspense story and I'm going to try to stay a little closer to the comedy of the story, while still keeping it a bit more adult in the story line.

…so here we go…with the promo…queue the creepy promo music

…_Henry Mancini middle school has always been a dump_.

…_what can you do?_

…_But behind the school, past the soccer fields _

_...Lies a field_

…_where the grass has grown long and brown_

…_where none of the students dare go, not even Billy_

…_But Why?_

…_Why does this field scare everybody? _

…_What is thing feeling it provokes? _

…_Why does it scare…me?_

…_Henry Mancini middle school has always been a dump_.

…_what can you do?_

Pleeeeease review and tell me what you think…because if everyone says they hate the new idea a always have backups.

Once more I would like to thank you for your reviews


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